I am not the only one noticing the decline of the mainline denominations. I read in Christian News that three Episcopalian bishops (two retired, one active) have joined the Roman Catholic Church. Considering how tradition-bound the Episcopalians are, that alone should shock the leadership. Bishops are not the type to jump out of their very comfy ship.
Rome is celebrating a number of celebrity conversions. Not without reason is Avery Dulles, SJ, the only cardinal in America without an archdiocese. His ecclesiastical honors are probably due to a chain of conversions, starting with Richard John Neuhaus, who studied at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis - when Otten and Marquart were students there.
At one time the Episcopalians were among the fiercest critics of Rome. Krauth wrote how many Episcopalians in his day wanted to throw themselves, weeping, on the pope's neck, hoping that the terms of reconciliation would not be too harsh.
We had a dear friend at Notre Dame, one of the few conservatives in the doctoral program. He wrote his dissertation on angels, but our advisor would not even read it. Charlie Caldwell was Episcopalian and taught Gaylin Schmeling at Nashotah House, the radical Leftist Episcopalian seminary where the Bethany Seminary president earned a master's degree. Mrs. Ichabod and I were driving in Wisconsin when we saw the sign for Nashotah House. Impulsively, we stopped and looked Charlie up. He spoke longingly about "Reunion with Rome."
I could imagine how a quasi-Roman denomination could want to be Roman Catholic again. I never imagined that Concordia, Ft. Wayne, would invite a convert (Neuhaus) to their seminary to beguile the students and pastors, who nodded in agreement as he seduced them. Or did he? Perhaps the audience was in his lap before he even started. That is truly sad, for those pastors will lead their congregations, in baby steps, back to Rome.
